good morning. state of cataroph the death toll in chile rises after that massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake damaged hundreds of thousands of homes and sent naum waves as far away as japan and russia. golden boys. u.s. flies to gold in the four-man bobsled ending a 62-year drought in the event and tying team usa for the most medals ever won at a winter games. this morning the men of the night train show off their gold medals. and apolo eight.

three olympics, eight medals, one man. he speaks out after his final race and about his place in the record books. today sunday, february 28, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on this sunday morning. i'm lester holt live in vancouver on this, the final day of the xxi winter olympic games. >> and i'm jenna wolfe in studio 1-a on this, the final day of us being separated. it's hard to believe we'll be looking ahead to 2012 in london. >> we've been here -- i've been here three weeks. i think that's long enough to apply for citizenship.

i'm starting to pronounce my vowels differently so it's probably time to come home. but there is plenty of excitement first on this final weekend. yesterday team usa won two more olympic medals. the four-man bobsled took america's first gold in the event since 1948 and the speed ka skating pursuit team took silver. there are more medals to be won before the flame is extinguished tonight. >> the question is who will win gold in the men's hockey event. later today the u.s. takes the ice against canada in a rematch of last week. it's also a rematch of the 2002 gold medal game where canada beat the americans on our home ice in salt lake. but win or lose after today, team usa will have won the most medals ever by any country in the winter games. an impress i've stat for this country. >> one man responsible for three of those medals is apolo ohno. he skated his last race friday taking bronze with his teammates in the 5,000 relay. i had a chance to talk with apolo about that race, what the

record meant to him and what is thoughts has been an olympic career beyond his imagination. we also talked about whether he is going to come back four years from now in russia. >> he also seems like he's matured so much in the last four years so i'm looking forward to seeing whether he's going to be back again. >> this guy is so settled, he's very settled and he says he's never had so much fun doing this sport, so it will be interesting to see what comes up in the future for him. >> good stuff. then in our next half hour he's not an olympian quite yet but he's well on his way. we'll meet the little guy who's tearing up the slopes with his snowboard skills. here's the kicker, he's 3 years old and stands two feet tall and he's better than you and i combined, lester, i can guarantee you that. >> we'll look forward to meeting him and seeing his skills. let's begin this morning with more on that massive earthquake in chile. one of the strongest ever recorded at a magnitude 8.8. officials now say the death toll is more than 300 and still rising.

the area is still being rocked by aftershocks. one reported as recently as an hour before we went on the air. this morning we are getting word of at least 100 people trapped in a building in the city of concepcion near the epicenter. the quake affected at least two million people in chile. as the search continues today for more survivors, we are seeing dramatic video from cameras that were rolling as the quake was happening. nbc's george lewis has the latest. >> reporter: surveillance cameras caught the moment the earthquake hit. the ground shaking and shaking and shaking for a minute and a half. it seemed like an eternity to the three million people in chile exposed to the quake's severity. when it was over, there was this. in the capital, saunt yag owe buildings toppled. at least half a million homes destroyed or severely damaged. highways buckled and torn up. bridges destroyed.

only a few pilings left standing. cars tossed around like toys. i don't know how i got out, this man said. but the building just fell. there was a gas leak and everything. those gas leaks and the electric lines touched off fires in many places. >> it got bigger and bigger and stronger and more intense and it was awful. it was terrible. >> reporter: rescuers went to work immediately. chile is a seismically active country so firefighters, medical teams and law enforcement have practiced for this. the chilean president michelle bachelet said there's no water, no electricity and very little gasoline. at the white house president obama pledged to help out. >> the united states stands ready to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts and we have resources that are positioned to deploy should the chilean government ask for our help. >> reporter: this is the strongest quake to hit chile in

50 years. it's a region where the earth's tectonic plates bump against one another. >> the plates are gng under either south america very quickly. we get these huge earthquakes along that margin. >> reporter: there have been dozens of aftershocks following the initial magnitude 8.8 earthquake, but the ground is still moving this morning. authorities are warning people to stay away from damaged, unstable structures. for "today," george lewis, nbc news, los angeles. >> cecilia lagos who was there joins us via skype. we're happy you're able to join us this morning. can you tell us about the severity and the number of aftershocks that you are experiencing? >> well, we are still having lots of aftershocks. last night it was quite -- it was quite a nice night to sleep and recover from the great

terror we lived the night before. we experienced more than 60 aftershocks so far, some of them, maybe three of them really,eally strong. actually some of them are rated 5 on the scale and actually an hour ago or so we had another aftershock that in talca, one of the most affected areas in the country, reached the 7 number, the seventh level, so they were all panic the and running away in places like hospitals in the streets. >> we have seen a great deal of damage pictures coming out of concepcion which is closer to the epicenter. can you describe what you have seen, though, on the streets of santiago in the capital? can you describe the damage you've seen there? >> well, in santiago there are maybe two parts. the part that didn't come with

any damage at all, like this one example which is one place, which is a successful face of the earthquake in terms of the construction and buildings that could make it. and then the other part, which is the oldest part of the city in which many buildings really collapsed because they couldn't make it. and there are some people, they are sleeping literally on the street. last night was a reay sad one for us. many people decided, decided to sleep on the streets because they were too scared to go into their house and try to sleep there because they were fearing their house would come down on them. and there is also a group, a large group of people that lost everything and they were forced to sleep on the streets last night. >> very difficult situation there. cecilia lagos, we appreciate you

checking in and sharing your account with us this morning. thank you so much. >> thank you. and now here's jenna. >> okay, lester, thank you. the quake sent a tsunami across the pacific. in the end they were spared the worst. ly -- lee cowan is live in honolulu with the latest. >> reporter: the worst fears weren't realized but that was a wave big enough to focus the world's attention on it as it raced across the pacific and forced tens of thousands of people here in hawaii up to higher ground. it was the biggest evacuation since 1994. even though it ended up being a series of surges rather than a tsunami here, no one was crying wolf. there was every indication it could be every bit as big if not bigger than a wave that killed more than 60 people on the big island in 1960 and that was generated from a quake almost in the very same area as yesterday so people were taking this very seriously. sirens went off around 6:00 a.m.

they gave people five hours of warning. they were stocking up on gas, stocking up on food. roads were clogged with traffic. a lot of people pulled over to the side and had tsunami watch parties looking down on the water expecting to see waves between six, eight feet, perhaps even higher. the navy sent about half a dozen of its ships out from pearl harbor. marinas were emptying out as pleasure boaters were heading to deeper water to ride out the wave. by early afternoon it was all over. the boats were coming back in, people were headed back to the beaches and everything was all clear. the experts are going to be looking now, jenna, at why the tsunami didn't end up being as big as what a lot of people thought but they insisted all of those warnings were necessary and yesterday's response proves that the warning system does in fact work and all those people would have certainly been saved had in fact the worst fears been realized here in hawaii. jenna, back to you. >> all right, lee cowan, good to know. thank you so much. time for a check of the morning's other headlines and we'll turn to melissa francis at

the news desk. >> good morning, everyone. president obama has signed a one-year extension to several provisions of the patriot act. the controversial counterterrorism law was set to expire today. the act expands the government's ability to monitor americans in the name of national security. it was first signed into law after the 9/11 terror attacks. more than a quarter of a million people from new york state to maine are still without power this morning following friday's massive storms. crews are working around the clock to restore power and in new york city ice crashed through a skyscraper's glass atrium causing it to collapse and causing minor injuries hundreds of people packed into shamu stadium on saturday just three days after a killer whale dragged a veteran animal trainer underwater to her death. it was an emotional show that started with a photo montage of veteran trainer dawn brancheau. an investigation is under way and trainers at seaworld are no longer allowed into the water.

tragic news for maria osmond. her 18-year-old son has committed suicide. a representative says 18-year-old michael blosil jumped from his los angeles apartment building. he left a note detailing a lifelong battle with depression. osmond said in a statement that her family is devastated by the tragic loss. and meanwhile, whole new meaning to grabbing a bite to eat. take a look at this panda in china. he went searching for food at a villager's house and they gave it to him. success. the man and his neighbors gave him food to munch on. clearly he was very happy. jenna, can you imagine, what do pandas eat? whatever they want. anything you have. >> good for the panda, i guess. melissa, thank you so much. janice huff is here with a check of the weather. good morning. >> did you hear you say you're ready for more snow here? >> no, no, no. i said no me snow please. >> after the last few days we had quite a bit across the northeast, it looks like things are going to calm down in some

areas. the sun is out here in new york. on the southwest coast, though, southern california and parts of the four corners area you're going to see some rain and some everyone. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. we're off to a cloudy start here in the washington area with temperatures in the mid- to high 30s now. we'll be climbing up into the mid- and upper 40s by later on this afternoon. radar still shows a few light snow showers now, primarily across southern pennsylvania, but one or two snowflakes may live long enough to get up towards fredericksburg, maryland. temperatures will be climbing now here's jenna. >> all right, janice, thanks. we will have more right after ththis. ♪

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and we've been open 24 hours a day -- 7 days a week. and we've made a tremendous amount of progress. you know, safety and reliability is top priority. i mean i got a family, too. i got a mother, a grandmoth, kids, nd we all drive in tse cs. i am 100% confident in the product. male announcer ] we're grateful to technicians like ronny who are helpings provide you with fe and reliae vehicles. for mo information, please visit toyota.com. as you know, it's the final weekend of the xxi winter olympic games. that doesn't mean the excitement is letting up, starting with team usa's first four-man bobsledding gold in 62 years. nbc's kevin tibbles reports.

>> reporter: on the bobsled track usa made history. >> all of us have done such a great job this year. >> reporter: piloting a near perfect race, holcomb sped to victory. >> 93 miles per hour, steve holcomb has raced for gold. >> reporter: then it was time to celebrate with what the team calls the hokie dance. >> canada just by 0.2. >> reporter: a silver lining for the u.s. men's pursuit speed skating team. the race was an olympic farewell for five-time medalist chad hedrick who plans to retire from the sport after these games. skier bode miller came out of retirement to race at these olympics and won a medal in three of his four events. but saturday in dense fog, miller skied off the slalom course and did not finish. >> you know, i made little mistakes so i take responsibility for it. it was something i knew could

happen, i was just willing to take the risk. >> reporter: as the games wind down, it was time for the figure skating gala, a place where the winners come to shine, including canada's bronze medalist joannie rochette, whose mother died suddenly in vancouver. on this, the final day, the final gold medal too is on the ice, as rivals canada and the united states face off in hockey. >> fans should be really into it. it should be loud and it should be a lot of fun to play. >> reporter: whatever the result, the united states is poised to set a record for most medals won at a winter olympic game. for today, kevin tibbles, nbc news, vancouver, british columbia. >> today's gold medal hockey game is truly a border war. sports olympic analyst jeremy roanic is here with a preview. if you had to script a canadian winter olympics and put two teams in the end, does it get any better than canada and usa hockey.

>> absolutely not. we can go back to 1960, 1980, but in terms of american hockey, this is the best stage that we can have for our sport in the united states but now we're on canadian soil, which they call it canada's sport. so everybody from coast to coast can't wait for this meeting. there's a poll that 46% of all canadians worried about the americans more than anybody, so this is what everybody wanted. it's a perfect way to end the olympics. >> the canadian coach said of team usa, he says we know them and they know us. there won't be a lot of surprises. >> i believe that, because remember there's 44 nhl players playing this game. nobody plays overseas, everybody is north american and this is their style of game or our style of game, which is hard-hitting, up and down, fast and it's going to be -- it is going to be a lot of tension. >> the american team is younger, some say quicker, but the last time these two played earlier here in the olympics, it struck me, i'm not a hockey expert,

that the canadians really outplayed the usa except for the final score. >> they did. going into the tournament we said that the goal tender ryan miller had to be the best player. he had to be the mvp of team usa in order for usa to have any kind of chance at a medal. but now we're in the gold medal game and ryan miller has been that guy but they are young, they are energetic. they have a lot of speed but they're going against a team that they beat a week ago and that revenge game is a very, very tough game to get over. it's going to be interesting to see how they handle it. >> martin broedeur is in goal. >> there's been a lot of different quirks going on with team canada because they didn't play as well as they thought in the beginning of the tournament. they put luongo in and they have been winning. >> when we started the olympics would you have seen the usa as an underdog in this sport? is there the potential for an upset if the usa wins? >> oh, absolutely.

it would be a monumental upset. not 1980 upset but here we are on canadian soil and there's no question that a younger team, it is the youngest team in the olympics, if they beat canada it would be, it would be monumental. there would be a lot of people running for the border on the canadian side, that's for sure. >> jeremy, we really enjoyed you guys. we appreciate you getting up early and spending time with us. >> anything for hockey. >> all right, my frie. still to come on a sunday edition of "today," team usa claims another gold. the bobsledding night train is here live, but first these messages. [ woman ] most of us don't get enough fiber in our diets.

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an overcast day for you on this last day of february. good morning, everyone. i'm kimberly suiters. here's a look at what's making news thimorning. assessing the situation in chile this morning, a little more than 24 hours after that powerful earthquake, at least 214 people have died in the magnitude 8.8 quake. about 500,000 homes were badly damaged. the earthquake triggered fears of tsunamis across the pacific, including hawaii, but waves were milder than expected and the pacific tsunami warning center lifted a tsunami warning early this morning. an active duty marine is behind bars this morning, accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint earlier this month. authorities arrested jorge

george torres at henderson hall yesterday. he's also a suspect of yesterday's abduction and assault of two arlington women. and the face of the new white house social secretary, julianna smoot, she's currently chief of staff to ron kirk. smoot will be taking over for desiree rogers, who plans on going back to the corporate world. rogers was criticized for not doing more to prevent unauthorized guests from attending last year's state dinner. chuck's forecast is coming up.

meteorologist chuck bell joining us now. good morning, chuck. >> good morning, kimberly. a good sunday morning out there, everybody. out there in the news 4 nation, off to a fairly cloudy start this morning, but we'll get brakes of sunshine by late this morning and early this afternoon. temperatures in the mid- to high 30s. 38 at the friendly peacock. doppler continues to show very light snow showers across southern pennsylvania. maybe one or two lonely raindrops now down into portions of southern maryland and the northern neck. by and large, not much in the way of a precipitation concern for today. a little bit of sunshine coming our way later on today. high temperatures in the mid- to high 40s. bright sunshine returns tomorrow with a high near 50. a little light rain late tuesday, maybe a rain/snow mix tuesday night into wednesday. kimberly? >> coming up on news 4 today at 9:00, you've heard of dogs, bears, and raccoons exploring your trash, but how about a

panda hanging out on the porch, chomping on a bone. that story just ahead at 9:00. and we're back on this sunday morning, the 28th day of february, 2010. you're looking at the olympic flame in vancouver burning brightly for its last day as the winter games come to a close tonight. i'm jenna wolfe with a great -- you guys are pretty great, right? i'm at studio 1a, lester holt is in vancouver. coming up in this half hour the u.s. men's bobsled team doing some things right. we're going to talk with them live, lester. >> and i'm so excited about these guys because, jenna, these were the fellow that say i got to ride with a few weeks ago.

remember my bobsled run? they were it for real and in record time, amazing performance, gold medal, so looking forward to that coming up. >> they're going to invite you back to do everything for them because you're such a beacon of good luck. yeah, they were the world champions going into last night's run now they're the olympic champions for the first time in 62 years. we will talk to them coming up and talk about their historical medal run. looking forward to that. also with friday's bronze in the short track relay, apolo ohno claimed his eighth olympic medal of his career. after that race i chatted with ohno in his first sitdown interview about being the most decorated winter olympian in americ history. and then a little guy you have to see to believe. by little, i mean age and height. here he is doing his best shaun white impression, but shaun white didn't start snowboarding until he was 7. this little guy, wesley, he's only 3 years old. coming up i hit the slopes with this phenom who we could potentially see in the 2026 olympic games one day.

>> but first let's get one more check of the weather from janice huff. janice, good morning. >> good morning, lester. you're in vancouver where the weather is i think probably a lot milder than here. a lot of people are here at the show and they came to see snow but there's no snow on the plaza. where are you from? >> michigan. >> you probably have more snow on the ground in michigan. at least maybe -- we have snow in central park. it gets cleaned up really fast around here, sorry about that. let's check the weather and see what's going on around the country. first of all, we'll talk about vancouver. of course the closing ceremony of the olympics is tonight so weather today u u to 50 degrees partly cloudy, maybe a few clouds here and there tonight with a temperature aroundround and a good sunday morning from the nation's capital here in washington. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. a fairly cloudy sky out there this morning, as you look live from our city camera view, that's the very tip of haynes point out there. a couple folks turning the corner, doing their morning lap.

current temperature, 38 degrees for the tomorrow morning joggers and bikers. mid- to high 30s area wide. a couple of lonely snowflakes in southern pennsylvania. we'll and now back to lester in vancouver. this morning on "today's olympic moment" riding the night train to gold. it's been 62 years since the u.s. won a gold medal in the four-man bobsled but today the drought is over. steve holcomb, steve mesler, kurt tomasevicz and justin olsen road the night train to the top of the podium last night. gentleme good morning and congratulations. what an awesome run. >> thank you. >> you were carrying history on your back, 62 years. was that in your mind as you were making that final run? >> actually we've done a pretty good job the past year or so to

keep that out of our minds. that was a lot of added pressure that we didn't want. we knew that was there but we didn't want to think about that kind of stuff. we already have enough pressure doing the olympic games as it is, but now that we've got the gold medal, it's nice to relish in this moment. >> the whistler track has become rather infamous for its difficult turns. i think a lot of guys were having trouble on turns 11 through 16. one of them you named 50-50 because 's so difficult. we saw a lot of crashes. how were you able to navigate it so well? >> you know, it was quite difficult. we had some trouble in the two-man race. i almost crashed there my very first run down the race in the two-man. i decided i needed to figure out something to do. i needed to figure out what my problems were. i went back and looked at video, watched the other sliders and just basically tried to find the best line through this. i think i picked up a few secrets from the video, we figured it out and took it to the four-man. >> steve mesler, you're in the number three position, a pretty difficult position to be.

what was your strategy? >> it was a tricky track. it's a short and steep drop there. we have to be really tight when we load and that's one of the things that we do to accelerate the sled down the hill. we practice it all the time. park city, the track you we you down, is very similar and that really helped us get our timing together for what we had to do. >> curt, talk about the start. is that where these races are won and lost? >> we like to think so. as a push crew we like to think our job is just as important if not more important than steve's, but when it comes down to it, it's a team effort. that's what it takes. we all do our role and it comes out golden. >> justin, you've been in the sport all of three years. >> it's my third year. >> and you're on the podium with a gold medal. are you taking this all in? >> the guys always tell me it's not this easy. so i don't know what else to say about. >> it i can testify it's not this easy because a few weeks

ago i went on that run with you and it was the most terrifying 50 seconds of my life, but it's amazing you guys are able to do this so successfully. and i know, you know, we've talked about it before. you went to the eye surgery. your sight is better than it's ever been. >> it is. i had a life-changing surgery two years ago. basically my eyes degenerated to the point i couldn't see any more. i basically retired from the sport and my coaches said that's not acceptable. we have to figure something out. we're going to stand behind you and find a cure. we found a doctor out in beverly hills who has a new procedure that came through and has pretty much corrected my vision to 20/20 since then. >> we're happy your healthy. so are you, the guy driving this thing. and you've got a new dance. how's it go? >> the hokie dance is a dance -- >> that's the move?

>> congratulations, thanks much. great having you on. up next, my sitdown interview with apolo ohno as he talks about his historic olympic run right after this. ng my life, my high cholesterol was contributing to plaque buildup in my arteries. that's why my doctor prescribed crestor. she id plaque buildup in arteries is a real reason to lower cholesterol. and that along with diet, crestor does more than lower bad cholesterol, it raises good. crestor is also proven to slow the buildup of plaque in arteries. cresr isn't for everyone, like people with liver disease, or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. you should tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking, or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. while you've been building your life, plaque may have been building in your arteries. find out more about slowing the buildup of plaque at crestor.com.

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okay, i've got to show you this. how ol is it. you've got your brand new gold medal getting your picture taken in front of the olympic cauldron. that's the four-man bobsled team we just had on getting their picture taken. this week apolo ohno the most decorated winter olympian cemented his place in history with three medals in vancouver adding to his five from torino and salt lake. i sat down with apolo and asked him how he felt about the title apolo 8. >> the number eight is very significant to me on so many different levels. everything has meaning, you know. i always knew that there was some type of symbolism here waiting for me here in vancouver. coming into these olympic gas, my entire drive internally was never to break any records. that wasn't like the sole

purpose and meaning for me. every single medal, every single race i think was skated from my heart, from my mind and my soul. and i think never before in my career was i ever able to be able to smile when i crossed the line, whether i won the race or whether i got second or third or whatever happened, just because of the fact that i felt good. >> why this feeling? was there a sense that it wasn't fun before or was it the reflection that after torino, when you went into that period of do i come back or not? >> obviously after torino there definitely was a reflection period. there was actually a period of time, about a year, where i was deciding if i even wanted to come back and do the olympic games. being an olympic athlete for me is 100% full sacrifice. everything i did was dedicated towards the sport, so i had to ask myself a serious question. do i want to dedicate four years of my life solely to becoming

this athlete that essentially has 40 seconds on the ice to create something that is perfect in an imperfect scenario. >> we talked a few months ago in seattle. we talked about the ft you had had the perft race, that 500 in torino. you didn't have the perfect race here. does that bother you? >> i think it depends on how you define a perfect race. i think many, many times during these olympic games i was very close to having a perfect race. you know, in sho track speed skating, a lot of things are out of your control, whether you get bumped or whether a referee makes a decision to disqualify you or another skater grabs you or pushes you. a lot of things are out of your control. but, you know, one thing that kind of rang true in my mind is when i was leaving the rink on the final day, there was a lot of great short track skating

legends who were there watching. some told me it was an honor to watch me skate and be a part of my career and for me that was very humbling. >> i was actually sitting not far from your dad who was watching you and i saw you come up and embrace him after the eighth medal. describe that moment. >> you know, the entire olympic games i didn't really know where my dad was sitting, okay. i'm so much in my own zone. so the one thing i wanted to do when i was out there was i wanted to find my dad, i wanted to find my family and friends and point them out. i just wanted to share that moment. >> did you lay awake last night thinking that it could have been nine? you finish in medal position in the 500 and were disqualified for interfering with another skater. has that gone over in your mind and how does it fit with you? >> i think initially it did. you know, when i watched the tape over and over again and i see the race, you know, i watched it with my coaches, i

watched it with some of my teammates and we all feel the same way about the call, but at the end of the day, you know, i have no regrets. >> it was a clean race in your view? >> yeah, i thought it was a very clean race. well, from my side it was a clean race. you know, i try not to live my life by looking back and saying, well, if i could have done, this if i would have done that because that's just not how it works. when i walk in the closing ceremonies, it's going to feel good, you know, to know that i have no regrets, absolutely none. >> you sound like someone who is stepping away from the competitive part. have you made a decision as to whether this is it for the olympics? >> you know, as an athlete and as a competitor, you never want to say never, especially the way i feel physically rightow and mentally right now. >> could you do it if you wanted physically, could you compete at the same level four years from now? >> it's hard to say. in my mind i think anything is possible.

in my heart i always want to be a warrior, i never want t back down, so you never know. >> and those who know apolo ohno say don't count him out. up next, the 3-year-old snowboarder already gunning for his own olympic gold medal right after these messages. rivals world class athletes. covering miles, even on hands and knees. not even a fall could stop them. they're the best players in the world, and pampers salutes them by doing everything we can to help playtime never end. pampers. [ laughs ] ♪ i've got good news. you need more fiber. huh? don't worry, it tastes great. froot loops now with 3 grams of fiber. fiber makes your tummy happy so it can absorb the good stuff you need, which your mom is gonna love. it does taste great.

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this morning on today's medal count, team usa leads with 36 medals, a new record for the united states. rmany is next with 29, canada is in third place with 25. and back inside studio 1a,

you know all parents brag about their kids, how smart, how athletic, how talented they are. well, the muresans are no different. so when their son wesley said he wanted to take up snowboarding, that's exactly what they helped him do. the day starts early for wesley muresan. breakfast, cartoons, halfpipe. >> ready. >> ready to go? >> yeah. >> reporter: i guess now's a good time to mention that wesley is easily the most popular border on sundown mountain in dubuque, iowa, and is just 3 years old. thankfully there's no age or height requirement on the mountain, because at just two and a half feet tall, wes blends right in. dad, let me ask you this, how long has wesley been snowboarding? >> about two months. reporter: all this after only two months of lessons for a kid who still has trouble with his ss.

>> can you ski? >> yeah, i can ski. >> yeah, i can key. >> he came up and how's it going, bud, are you ready to go? let's go do the bunny hill and we're going to see what happens. he says, no, i want to do the halfpipe. >> reporter: that's where we caught up with him this week. wes and his lifelong dream to snowboard. is that hard? >> yeah. >> reporter: it was a little bit hard? >> yeah. dad, can i go on the big one? >> reporter: now you want to go on -- when, this isn't big enough for you? as big as he'd like to go, he's still a little guy and sometimes a spill brings a few tears. but mom says that's more from a bruised ego than a bruised bottom. >> if he cries, it's not because he's hurt, it's because he didn't do his trick the way he wanted to. >> reporter: luckily, my ego is no so easily hurt, so as a rookie snowboarder and with the guidance of my new instructor, i hit the bunny trail. come help me.

show off. you're lower to th ground, you can do that. i can't get down that far. so do you like this? just the quiet serenity of being alone on top of a mountain? >> this is a day of snowboarding. >> this is a day of snowboarding. i think that's a really good answer. >> reporter: and off we went, following the path of his idol, shaun white. >> you go. i'll meet you there. i'm good. who is your favorite snowboarder? >> shaun white. >> shaun white. what do you want to be when you gr up? >> i'm going to be a racer. >> a racer? >> yeah. >> you mean like a snowboard racer? >> yeah. >> reporter: in the meantime he's got a little growing to do and maybe a few more tv interviews, but already -- >> all the way down, ready? >> reporter: wesley is the king of the hill. >> lit him go. >> whoa! bye, wes. >> love that kid, adorable. many thanks to wesley, his family and all the folks at sundown mountain in dubuque. they were wonderful.

thank you, guys. once again, here's lester. >> he was pretty good, that was fun, jenna. as we say goodbye to vancouver, preps are already under way for the next olympic games. we get more on the 2012 games in london from nbc's michelle kaczynski. >> olympic glory burns yet in vancouver, those medals still warm in hands that clutch them. but 4700 miles away, london is more than busy with the next olympic game. >> london will be ready. >> reporter: it's not easy to think summer sports during one of the worst winters here in a century, but everyone from the queen to the man on the street -- >> even though it might not be the best for the country, but we'll get it. >> reporter: is trying, trying. >> very excited. >> to the city of london. >> reporter: to rekindle that thrill of victory back in 2005.

well, times have changed. some corporate sponsors had to back out in this economy, while the budget to build these marvels and regenerate east london has nearly quadrupled to more than $9 billion pounds. there have been a few glitches, the olympic countdown clock that turned out to be 48 days fast or the what exactly is that sort of logo that everyone seems to love to hate. but the plans are glorious. five new venues, a javelin train traveling 130 miles per hour, all so far ahead of schedule. there will even be some sensible savings hosting tennis at wimbledon. the triathlon at hydeark and beach volleyball, right here where these guys usually train. it's been plenty to make the next olympians, like world champion diver at 15 tom daily or 30-year-old rebecca romero in whon silver in athens and gold in cycling in beijing very

excited. even practicing in very british rain and wind. >> the big thing that sparks the emotions and tingles down my spine was the opening ceremony and representing your country. it sparks something in you and relights that fire. >> reporter: and when that flame burns again, it will be in this quirky city of old and new, home to 200 nationalities. no matter the challenges or the weather. for "today," michelle kosinski, nbc news, london. we'll be back with a look back at the best moments of the xxi olympic games after these messages.

time for a check of what's coming up this morning on "meet the press." david gregory joins us.

>> hey, jenna. coming up the health care divide. is there room for any compromise or will that televised summit this week result in stalemate. we'll ask our exclusive guests, republican senator john mccain of arizona and white house health care czar nancy-ann deparle. it's all this morning on "meet the press." >> that will do it for us on this sunday morning. janice huff, melissa francis, thank you for gjoining me. >> i'll be back here in vancouver tonight for nbc nightly news. as we say goodbye to vancouver, we leave you with a look back at the moments that made these xxi olympic games so memorable. so long, everyone. >> oh can today -- oh canada, the drought is over.

>> 18 years for this moment. >> plushenko, lysacek will duel it out. >> the triple toe. >> evan lysacek with the skate of his life! >> and there it is! oh! shani davis pushing it till the end and he's got ear gold medal. >> lindsey vonn into the lead by more than a half seco. >> this means everything to me. >> korea may sweep this! no, korea wipes out! unbelievable! >> absolutely extraordinary bad luck for julia mancuso. >> just give us a sense of your emotions finishing fourth. >> oh, man.

>> a lap and a half and apolo ohno in trouble. and apolo ohno takes down two brothers and a country to get back. it's apolo's seventh. >> the fans are kind of excited, don't you think? >> bode miller has the gold! >> he scores! >> the skate and the moment is much more than the competition. >> into triple toe loop. >> yeah! one of the greatest olympic performances i have ever seen.

the aftermath, incredible damage after the earthquake in chile, one of the most powerful quakes in history. the latest on the tsunami warnings that spanned the globe. a dishonorable act. a woman abducted in arlington, assaulted, seriously injured. why a marine is now under arrest, accused in a similar crime. and time to pay up. metro riders, while your trip is suddenly more expensive today. od morning, everyone. i'm kimberly suiters. welcome to "news 4 today" at 9:00. it's sunday, february 28th, 2010. a look at the day's top stories in just a minute. but first, let's get a